The Closer I get to you
by Utashi-chan
Summary: Girl meets boy, boy meets girl. Attraction? Definitely. Blossoming friendship? Hell yeah! Love? You answer that question! ;) Yet another ClairexGray fanfic! (I love Gray, thank you for not asking) xXWill be updated soon after a very loooooong restXx ;)
1. Chapter 1

HIYA! IT'S ME AGAIN! FIRST CHAPTER IS UP! PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! THANK YOU! : 3

-CLAIRE'S POV-

I walked up the deck and stared at the big blue sea. I felt quite relax from the gentle breeze touching my pale face. I was enjoying the moment when suddenly there was a loud thud and it caused me to almost fall overboard. 'What the hell?' I whispered as I rub my aching back. "Sorry Ms. Pacer, I caught you off guard." The captain said. "Well anyways. Here we are. Beautiful Mineral town!" he added. I stepped on the sandy beach and my eyes wander through the whole place. '_Boy this place is beautiful!' _I dragged my luggage towards the cement stairs. It was so heavy! I wished I hadn't packed so much.

I came across a brick road leading to what I think was a park of some sort. I drifted my eyes from right to left and saw two roads leading to two opposite direction. _Oh great! Just great! I'm lost! _I closed my eyes and picked randomly, I picked the road on the right. As I came further, I saw a big sign with the word 'INN' written in bold letters.

_Hmmmm... Maybe I should stay here for the night. After all I am so exhausted! _I went inside and found a red headed girl whose hair was braided, and had a silly grin on her face. She merrily skipped towards me and said quite loudly. "HEY! YOU'RE NEW HERE AREN'T YOU? WELL MY NAME'S ANN AND THAT'S MY DAD AND WELCOME! ARE YOU GONNA STAY HERE FOR GOOD? WE ARE GONNA BE BEST BUDS I CAN TELL! SO WHAT'S YOUR NAME? "

_Gosh was she a motor mouth!_ "Nice to meet you, my name's Claire. And yes, I will be staying here for quite awhile." I said trying to sound cheerful. As our conversation drifted, I learned so much about Ann and this town. I knew who's going together, who's hooking up, and a lot of other random stuff. "So Claire... How about a tour around town?" Ann said jumping up and down trying to convince me to say yes. "Umm. S-sure?" I answered quite uncertain.

And the next thing I knew, I was being dragged around by Ann meeting the residents of this small town. First I met Duke and Manna. I thought once that Manna and Ann were related; well they were both motor mouths! Then there was Sasha, Jeff, Karen, Basil, Anna, Mary, Carter, Stu, Ellen, Harris, the mayor, Barley and May. It was almost 11:00 and now I really felt exhausted. I want to stop for while, but Ann insisted that we continue.

We were on our way to what Ann called the 'POULTRY FARM' when Doug came running towards us looking very angry. "What's up pop?" Ann said annoyingly. "DON'T YOU 'WHAT'S UP POP' ME! YOU LEFT ME ALL ALONE IN THE INN WITHOUT ANY WARNING! BLAH BLAH BLAH!" He shouted. I can't hear the rest because, well, because I passed out.

I woke up with a headache. _Oh jeez! _I thought to myself as I rubbed my temples. I was in a white room with blue curtains surrounding every inch of the room. "She's awake! She's awake!" I heard someone shouting across the room. _Ann!_ I thought for sure. And, I was right. Ann ran towards me and hugged me very tightly. "OHCLAIREIAMVERYSORRYIT'SMYFAULTTHATYOUPASSEDOUTANDI'MVERYSORRY..." she continued. I cut her off and tried to calm her. "Ann, calm down. Breathe! Breathe!" I gestured her to breathe deeply. "Okay. I'm good. I'm good." She said. "Don't worry. I'll take care of you." She added.

"Excuse me Ann, can I please talk to the patient?" said a man wearing a lab coat with black ebony hair. His eyes were serious but at the same time attractive. That is one hot doctor! I stared at his features and he seemed to notice. Because he took a step backward and I saw his face quite flushed. "W-well, a-as I-I was saying. You'll be okay s-soon, just t-take lots of rest." He stuttered.

I was blushing myself! God was he hot! "Oh, thank you umm... doctor?" I said. "It's Trent. Doctor Trent. And may I please have your name?" He said shyly. "Umm... I mean for your record here in the clinic." He added. "Oh. My name's Claire. Claire Pacer." I said quite disappointed. It was around five when I checked out of the clinic, Ann left an hour ago so I went straight to the Inn. As I approached the door, I was knocked down by a tall figure. "OUCH!" I cried. I looked up and saw a young man wearing an UMA hat looking down on me quite shocked. "S-sorry." He grunted and offered me a hand. "It's okay." I said. There was an awkward silence between us. "W-well, to show you how sorry I am, I'll buy you dinner." He suddenly said and with that he dragged me, not waiting for my response.

We went inside and settled on a table. "Oh yeah, the name's Gray." He started. "Mine's Claire, I'm new here." I said trying to be friendly. "So I've noticed." He smirked. _'What an ass hole! He could at least be polite!' _I thought to myself. "So, how do you like the town so far?" he asked. I think he was trying to strike a conversation. "It's okay, I guess." I answered. After we finished dinner, our conversation drifted, say, he wasn't that bad after all.

Not very long, I saw Ann running towards us. "Claire! I see you've met my cousin!" she said. "Oh, you're related?" I said pointing to Gray. "Yes, sadly." Gray said teasingly. Ann frowned and slapped his shoulders that caused him to fall. I started to laugh. "H-hey! What's so funny?" Gray said with puppy dog eyes. "You're that weak?" I teased him.

"Oh yeah? I happened to be a blacksmith Ms. I-know-everything!" He snapped back. I continued to laugh and soon enough Ann joined me. "Yeah, a weak blacksmith!" I continued to tease him. He didn't say anything. Instead, he stood up, picked me up and settled me on his shoulder. "AHHH! GRAY! PUT ME DOWN! PUT ME DOWN!" I shrieked. Everyone was looking at us, and now it was his time to laugh. He didn't listen to me. He continued laughing with me hanging on his shoulder.

"DAMN IT GRAY!" I shouted and with that I struggled so hard that it caused both of us to fall down on the floor. He fell on his back with me on top. I blushed madly when I realized that our faces were only an inch away, he stared at my face and I stared at his. Now I can see his face more clearly, without his stupid hat covering his face. His hair was red and he had baby blue eyes. I totally think he was very handsome.

We stayed in the same position for about a minute when Ann caught our attention. She was laughing loudly with her hands on her stomach. It took me a while to realize our situation, and when I did, I quickly stood up. "U-uh... S-sorry, I-I d-didn't... I mean... I have to take a shower." I stuttered and ran quickly upstairs to my room. I slam the door behind me and sat on the bed. _'He was so close to me.' _I thought and remembered the way that he stared into my eyes.

"Knock knock! Claire? It's me! Ann! Can I come in?" I heard her saying with quite a giggle in her tone. "It's open." I said quietly. She went in quickly and sat next to me. "So, how do you like my cousin?" She asked teasingly. "What do you mean?" I said trying to act innocent. "Oh nothing in particular, I'm just asking how did you like my cousin?" She said trying to sound clean. "He's okay, I guess, END OF DISCUSSION!" I snapped. "Ooookay! Well, I just came in to deliver these clean towels. I recall that you told Gray that you're going to take a shower?" She said with a wide grin. "Thanks." I smirked.

I went inside the bathroom and started my shower. All that time I was thinking about what happened that night. Maybe I should forget about it.

-GRAY'S POV-

'_Shit! What just happened?' _I thought to myself. I went to my room, and the more I think about it the more it made me blushed. I realized that Claire was just next room. Maybe I should apologize to her. It took me awhile to find my courage, but I manage to make it to her door. I knocked quietly and waited for a response. A minute has passed and still no response. I poke my head through the door, and saw that the room was empty.

I took a step inside. _'Hmm... Where is she?' _I thought to myself. I let myself inside and sat on the bed. Suddenly, the bathroom door beside the bed flung open and there stood Claire, in her white bathrobe. I stared blankly for a few seconds and quickly stood up. "Uh, I-I just c-came here to say sorry and uh- bye!" I said quickly and tried to take my leave.

But before I could leave the room, Claire held me back. "Please wait outside for awhile. I'm just going to get dressed and then we could talk." She said meekly. I followed her instructions and after five minutes she led me inside. She sat on a chair near a table and I sat across her.

"You were saying?" She said. "I-I'm sorry, about what happened earlier." I said quietly. "It's okay." She said. "I hope we could still be good friends!" She added but now her tone of voice was more cheerful. "Yeah, and uh goodnight!" I said and took my leave.

I lay on my bed trying to get to sleep when suddenly the door creaked open and Cliff went inside. Cliff was my roommate. He sat quietly on his bed as always. "Hey Cliff! Have you seen the new girl?" I asked quite excited. "N-no, what was she like?" he said in a soft voice. "Well, she's slime. She has a long blonde hair. She's very nice." I answered smiling.

Cliff stared at me; he began to smile, which was kind of creepy and said "You like her, don't you?" "What! No!" I protested. _I couldn't like someone whom I just met! Sheesh! I mean, I barely knew her. _ "Well, whatever." Cliff replied then went to sleep.

Sometimes I can't understand that guy. I mean, Ann had a crush on him but I don't know if Cliff's even interested on my cousin. Sigh, well, I better go to sleep. Work starts early tomorrow.

_**Well do you like it? I hope you do! I need inspiration guys! Please review!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Here's chapter 2! Please read and review!**_

=NEXT DAY=

-CLAIRE'S POV-

I woke up with a smile on my face. I had a wonderful sleep last night, so now I felt so refreshed! I grab my towels and went straight to have my bath. After ten minutes, I walked outside the bathroom feeling happier than ever. I wore my purple tank top, knee-high shorts and white rubber shoes. I tied my hair to a neat ponytail and sprayed a little perfume on myself. There, I was ready to go.

I went down stairs and sat on a table. I saw Ann walking sleepily towards me. "Mornin' Claire! *Yawn* Goddess you're an early bird! Imagine waking up five in the morning?" She said sitting down next to me. "Well, I'm used to it. Although not all city folks wake up early you know. I used to do yoga early in the morning." I said giggling. Suddenly Doug went out of the kitchen with two plates of bacon and eggs, two cups of hot chocolate and four slices of bread. "Here you are, Claire, Ann. Eat up to energize yourselves!" Doug said smiling at us. "Thanks Dad." Ann said sleepily.

Ann is so less energetic! She barely talks much! I loooove mornings! "So why did you came here anyway Claire?" Ann asked while taking a sip from her mug. "Well, I was hoping to start a new life here. You know, away from city life." I answered. "But why?" Ann asked again. This time she sat closely to me as if waiting for a story to start. "Well, okay, Ann! But you have to swear your life not to tell anyone about this!" I said sternly and she nodded willingly. "Okay, my parents are... rich." I whispered to her.

"RICH! THEN WHY DID YOU COME HERE?" Ann shouted in disappointment. Maybe the breakfast was beginning to do its job on Ann. She was beginning to be noisy again. "Ann! Shush!" I said trying to keep her quiet. "Sorry." She whispered. I took a deep breath and continued "As I was saying, my parents are... rich. And I was living the life in the city when I met 'HIM'."

"Who's HIM?" Ann interrupted. "Ann! Please let me continue." I almost shouted. "Okay, No more interruptions." Ann said assuring. "I used the word HIM because I don't want to say his name ever again! HIM is my ex-boyfriend and he cheated on me! My parents were so into HIM because his parents were rich and powerful too. They wanted us to get married despite of the fact that he was cheating on me. That's why I ran away. I can't tell anybody who I really am so that 'HIM' won't find me. So don't you dare spread the word about me being rich!" I said still in a hushed voice.

"Ouch! That is really tough! How did your parents react?" Ann said still whispering. "As all parents may have reacted, they were so disappointed with me. They both moved away to Paris." I said taking a bite of my bread. "Wow. Your parents were so inconsiderate!" She said in a low voice. "Oh well, sooner or later they'll realize their mistake... and when I see that 'HIM' I'll give him my two cents worth he'll never forget!" She added.

After our breakfast, Ann asked Doug's permission to finish my tour around town. She didn't want the incident coming up again. Luckily, there were not so many customers so Doug agreed. We walked towards the road to the poultry farm when suddenly a chicken came running towards us. Ann shrieked and hid behind me. I carefully took the chicken in my arms and it was a gentle animal after all.

"HEY! COME BACK HERE! COME BACK HERE!" we heard someone shouting. I turned around to see who it was and I eyed a nerdy looking man shouting frantically but suddenly came to a screeching halt. He stared at me for about ten seconds, which was kind of creepy.

"OH! RICK!" Ann shouted from behind. "Oh! Sorry, umm... Thanks for picking up the chicken. I'm Rick!" He said blushing. "It's no problem, the name's Claire!" I said smiling as I handed the little creature to him. He blushed a lot more and started to stutter. "T-t-t-t-t-t-t-thanks uhhhh... C-c-c-c-laire!" "Rick, could we see your mom and sister?" Ann said trying to calm him down.

Rick nodded like a school boy and went to lead the way. We went inside and met his mom Lillia and his sister Popuri, they were all nice people. Next we went to the blacksmith shop. But as we approach the shop we heard some disturbing noises, so we hurried inside. We saw Gray and an old man shouting and cursing at each other. "GRANDPA! GRAY! STOP IT!" Ann ordered. But instead of listening to Ann, they continued to shout at each other.

-GRAY'S POV-

What a day! My berserk grandpa is on my back again! We were in a middle of fight when Ann came in; she tried to stop us but ended up being ignored. Then I saw someone behind her, it was Claire. I stopped shouting and hit pause. I just gazed at her. She was so beautiful even when she's scared. Grandpa confusingly followed my stare and saw Claire. "Sorry miss! My name is Saibara and this is Gray my grandson." Grandpa said addressing to Claire with a much calmer voice.

"It's okay sir. I'm Claire, Ann and I was just on a tour around town." She said smiling sweetly. "Gray! You take a day off! Run along with Ann and Claire." Grandpa ordered sternly. I don't want to be with Ann! She'll just rub it on me! (About what happened last night)

I tried to protest "But I'm not fini-" "GO!" Grandpa shouted. The three of us ran as fast as we could, not that I was afraid or anything, but the girls were afraid of my berserk Grandfather so I tagged along with them to make sure Claire's alright.

We went to the Inn for lunch, then after that I decided to go along with their tour. As we were about to go out, Doug called Ann to run an errand. Ann can't come along, so I had Claire all to myself! I took her to the winery were Cliff was working. I started to introduce them to each other, and I think I've made the biggest mistake of my life. Cliff just stared at her, almost drooling, and Claire stood still and blushed. To avoid anymore bond between them, I wave goodbye to Cliff real quick and drag Claire along.

We walked along the road leading to the deserted farm. A huge sign was hung upon the entrance with the words 'FOR SALE' on it. "Huh... So, this used to be a farm?" Claire asked. "Yep, apparently the old farmer moved away with his wife to some city." I answered.

"I see you're interested in that junk." someone trailed off from behind. It was the mayor. He noticed Claire's presence and tried to act hospitable. "I'm sorry, it was a joke." He said covering up. "Yes, I am very much interested." Claire answered ignoring his statement. "WHAT?" the mayor and I said in unison. "After all, I can't stay in the INN forever." She said giggling.

"Well, alright then. I'll sell it to you for 50,000 G!" The mayor shouted in triumph. "That's a total r-" I tried to protest. "Deal." Claire said sternly. "Wonderful, I expect to receive payment by the end of summer." He said. "Okay." Claire said assuring. As Thomas fled quickly as possible, I stood there dumbfounded. "What the Hell? Claire, that was a total rip off!" I said as my hot-headedness took over. "It's okay Gray." She said smiling sweetly.

Her smile soon calmed me down a bit, but I was still angry. We walk together in silence to the Inn. I was still disappointed with her. I flung the door open and stormed inside. "Hi guys what's up?" Ann greeted happily. I ignored her and went to my room.

-CLAIRE's POV-

"What's up with Gray? He seems upset." Ann asked in a worried tone. "He's angry with me for buying the old deserted farm for 50,000 G." I answered in a hushed tone. "WHAT?CLAIRETHAT'SARIPOFF!IKNOWYOU'REVERYRIC-" I covered Ann's mouth before she went too far. "Ann! Shush!" I said still covering her mouth. She removed my hand and said in a hushed voice "I know you're rich, but still that was a rip off!" "I know." I said admitting my mistake.

"Maybe you should tell Gray the truth, you know about being super rich? Maybe he'll take the situation in a lower level." Ann said. "I don't know yet. Maybe it's not the time for it, you know?" I tried to protest. "Come on, tell him the truth!" Ann said trying to convince me. "Okay, okay." I said giving up.

I walked upstairs quietly, I was about to knock on the door of Gray's room when suddenly I heard voices. "Of all the nerve!" Gray shouted. "Calm down Gray." Cliff said in a hushed voice. "That mayor is too much! Does he always have to be a con-artist?" Gray said much louder. "Let's speak of something else. How about that rich girl from the other town? Lumina was it?" Cliff said trying to change the topic. "CLIFF! YOU KNOW I HATE RICH BRATS WHO THROWS AWAY MONEY LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW! STOP CHANGING THE TOPIC!" Gray shouted even much more loudly.

_Oh shit! He was definitely angry with me for wasting so much money for a stupid farm, if he knew how rich I am, He'll think I'm a spoiled brat! I couldn't tell him the truth! _I thought to myself.

I scurried down stairs and found Ann inside the kitchen. "ANN!" I almost shouted. "I couldn't tell him... I just couldn't!" I said punching the wooden wall. _Ouch! That hurts. _"Why not?" Ann asked in amusement. "I don't want him to see me as a spoiled brat!" I said as I held onto both her shoulders. "Oh, I see your point. Gray does hate rich girls who throw away money for useless things." Ann said touching her chin. "Ann, that's not helping!" I snapped.

"Sorry." She apologized. "Oh man, what am I going to do? If I paid for the farm without working he'll suspect something!" I said shaking her. "Cool it Claire! Then maybe you should work hard to earn the money!" She said with a wide grin. "Work?" I said weakly letting go of her shoulders. "Yes work, you'll work on the farm to earn that money. That way Gray won't suspect anything!" She exclaimed proud of her idea. It took me awhile to process everything. "Okay then. I'll work for that money!" I shouted but quite unsure of my proclamation. Suddenly, the kitchen door opened. It was Gray.

That's the end of Chapter 2! Read and review guys! :))))))))


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